SENSE & SENSIBILITY (some text hidden) --NONE--

BY JONATHAN CROUCH

Introductionword count: 128

The Escort-sized Mentor saloon was the second model to be launched by the South Korean company in the UK back in 1994. The first had been the little Pride (a rehashed Mazda 121 from the 1980s). For this car, they'd used the same approach, borrowing the fundamentals from the larger Mazda 323 but mixing them up with a little handling help from Lotus. The idea was to show that the company meant business in the global market but too often, the Mentor was forgotten by UK customers in the small family sector. Still, it makes an affordable and reliable used buy if you're not worried about badge prestige or driving excitement. Worth considering if all you want is to get from A to B as efficiently as possible.

Modelsword count: 22

Models Covered: (MENTOR 4DR 1.6 [SLX/GLX] / MENTOR 4DR 1.5 [SLX/GLX] / MENTOR 5DR 1.5 [SLX/GLX] / MENTOR II 4DR 1.5 [S/SX])

Historyword count: 195

At the time of its original UK launch in June 1994, this was South Korea's best selling car. Initially however, sales expectations were much more modest in Britain, with just two saloon variants on offer; a basic SLX and a better specified GLX. Both had their origins firmly in Japan, with floorplans, engines and transmissions straight from Mazda's 323. To differentiate 'their' car, Kia clothed the whole thing in smart new bodywork created by British design consultants IAD, and fine-tuned the handling in association with Lotus. Sales picked up a bit when a five-door version with a new 1.5-litre engine was launched with the same two trim levels in June 1996. The four-door continued with the 1.6-litre unit until June 1997 when it was re-launched with the 1.5. The Mentor was thoroughly facelifted in June 1999 and renamed the Mentor II, this time available only as a saloon in 1.5-litre form with S or SX trim levels. The Mentor II died early in 2001 to be shortly afterward replaced by the 'New Mentor', a completely redesigned model which had approximately the same mix of virtues - this model, in turn, was deleted in early 2003.

What You Getword count: 59

Inside, there's a surprising amount of space - far more in the rear than a BMW 3 series for example. Better still, there are plenty of standard fittings to offer the impression that you're in a far more expensive car. The GLX models for example, get powered windows all-round central locking, electric mirrors, tilt-adjustable steering and a four-speaker stereo.

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